1974 United States Grand Prix
Watkins Glen | location = Watkins Glen, New York, USA | circuittype = Permanent racing facility | lapdistance = 5.435 | laps = 59 | distance = 320.670 | pole = Carlos Reutemann | polenation = ARG | poleteam = | poletime = 1:38.978 | fastestlap = 1:40.608 | fastestlapdriver = Carlos Pace | fastestlapnation = BRA-1968 | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 54 | winner = Carlos Reutemann | winnernation = ARG | winnerteam = | second = Carlos Pace | secondnation = BRA-1968 | secondteam = | third = James Hunt | thirdnation = GBR | thirdteam = }} The 1974 United States Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XVII Grand Prix of the United States, was the final round of the 1974 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at Watkins Glen on the 6th October 1974.'GRAND PRIX RESULTS: UNITED STATES GP, 1974', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr250.html, (Accessed 17/05/2017) The race, which was also the 250th Grand Prix to be staged as a Formula One World Championship round, would see the 1974 Champion crowned, as Emerson Fittipaldi, Clay Regazzoni and Jody Scheckter fought for the title, although it was also a day marred by death. The best of the title pretenders after qualifying would be the one in the weakest position, with Scheckter claiming sixth on the grid, while Championship leader Fittipaldi in eighth ahead of ninth placed Regazzoni. Pole, meanwhile, had gone to Carlos Reutemann of the crew, while Mario Andretti set home hearts soaring by claiming third in the American built , only denied a front row spot by James Hunt's . Unfortunately for the home fans, Andretti needed a push start to get his electrically hampered Parnelli into action, prompting an automatic disqualification after he rejoined at the back of the field. An otherwise undramatic start saw Reutemann and Hunt duel for the lead into turn one, while the rest of the field filtered past Andretti behind Carlos Pace. Scheckter was promoted to fifth, while Fittipaldi and Regazzoni moved past John Watson off the line to queue up behind the title pretending Tyrrell. It soon became clear that there was something wrong with the #11 , as Regazzoni fell off the back of Fittipaldi as the early laps ticked away. Once he fell behind Watson and Arturo Merzario the Swiss racer's title challenge was over, with Regazzoni making a stop for fresh tyres that failed to cure the issue. On lap ten attention snapped away from the title fight, for Helmuth Koinigg suffered a suspension failure at turn seven, and duly smashed into the barriers. Despite the relatively low speed of the impact, the Austrian's imparted enough force on the Armco to lift it off its support posts, allowing the Surtees to punch through. Momentum carried the rest of the car under the top rail, and Koinigg received a near-decapitating blow to the head, killing him instantly. The race continued on in spite of the rather gruesome accident, however, with Reutemann still leading Hunt and Pace. Niki Lauda ran along in fourth until suspension trouble ended his race prematurely, meaning he dropped behind Scheckter and Fittipaldi, the Brazilian simply stalking his title rival. As news of Koinigg's fate reached the pits, John Surtees though it best to withdraw the sister car of José Dolhem, although the Frenchman was running well down the order. Into the closing stages and Hunt's pace was wavering, allowing Pace to close right onto the back of the Hesketh. A brief engagement resulted before Pace pulled ahead, the Brazilian ensuring it was a Brabham one-two, with Reutemann well up the road. In the midst of their battle, the Championship was ultimately came to its conclusion, for Scheckter's Tyrrell developed a fuel leak, sending the South African into the pits. With Regazzoni well down the order, Fittipaldi could relax and begin a gentle cruise to the flag as the rest of the field fought on around him. With that, the race was run, with Reutemann leading teammate Pace home ahead of an increasingly distant Hunt, whose Hesketh was crabbing come the end of the race. Fittipaldi was proclaimed Champion for the second time after finishing fourth, while Watson blasted past Merzario for fifth. The Italian himself had retired with a fire extinguisher failure just before Scheckter disappeared, and so Patrick Depailler inherited the final points paying position. Background Watkins Glen hosted the season finale for Formula One for the third year in a row in 1974, although it was the first time that the circuit would host a true season ending title fight.A.H., 'United States Grand Prix: Reutemann the Winner, but Fittipaldi the Champion', motosportmagazine.com, (Motor Sport, 01/11/1974), http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-1974/21/united-states-grand-prix, (Accessed 17/05/2017) If that was not enough, the organisers had managed to harness a $300,000 prize pool for the weekend, with $50,000 alone for the race winner. As such, most of the major World Championship teams headed to "the Glen" immediately after the Canadian Grand Prix, getting in almost two full weeks of practice. Leading the charge in the States, and somehow among the favourites after a dismal season, were , who brought a three car compliment down from Canada. Ronnie Peterson headed the team with his 72E, while Jacky Ickx partnered him in the oldest surviving 72E that had not been sold to South Africa. The third car was the team's developmental 76, which was slapped with #31 on the nose and given to Tim Schenken, who was told not to crash it in case Peterson needed to use it. The other favourites were title pretending , who had their usual three driver compliment split between two teams and four cars. Championship leader Emerson Fittipaldi needed to finish ahead of lead driver Clay Regazzoni to win the title, while McLaren themselves had to at least claim a point to win the International Cup for Manufacturers. His Team Texaco Marlboro teammate would be Denny Hulme once again, the veteran Kiwi set to announce his retirement from F1 at the end of the weekend, while the Yardley car was in the hands of Jochen Mass. Rivals Ferrari ideally needed to win in the States, although their 312B3-74s were not suited to the circuit, as proved by the previous weekend at Mosport Park. Regazzoni needed to finish in the points, and ahead of Fittipaldi, to take the crown, while teammate Niki Lauda was looking to claim a tenth pole of the season. Unfortunately for them their chances had taken a huge hit when the Swiss racer wrote off one of the their cars during the private tests in "the Glen", bruising his legs. The ruined car was flown back to Maranello to be repaired, while a replacement, restored, chassis was flown out a few hours later. The third title pretender, in terms of the World Championship, was Jody Scheckter at , although the South African arrived as very much the dark horse of the Championship. He would need to win the race outright and see both Fittipaldi and Reutemann finish sixth or lower to take the crown, with the team flying out a rebuilt 007 for the South African which was armed with larger fuel tanks. That flight also carried along a brand new 007 for Patrick Depailler, meaning that his regular car would serve as the team's spare. threw their full weight at bringing all three BT44s to the Glen, Bernie Ecclestone targeting the $50,000 prize as an end-of-season bonus. The two factory run cars of Carlos Reutemann and Carlos Pace were serviced, while John Watson's full factory backed, but privately sponsored, car was rebuilt after his suspension failure in Canada. A fourth Brabham, Watson's old BT42 was also dragged down from Mosport Park with Ian Ashley at the wheel. Away from those looking for the top prizes and a lot of interest was fixed on the two American entries, with and set to make their home debuts after successful run-outs in Canada. Both cars had been stripped, rebuilt, and tested in the week prior to the season finale, with Mark Donohue and Mario Andretti both confident ahead of their home race. If either effort got into the points it would be seen as an excellent result, although both teams had their sights set on a full campaign in 1975. had a busy build-up, rebuilding Vittorio Brambilla's car around a whole new monocoque, while Hans-Joachim Stuck spent his time flying too and from Europe to take part in an Formula Two race. were still officially licensed in the States, meaning Jean-Pierre Jarier and Tom Pryce were under more pressure than usual, although their natural pace meant that there were no major concerns. were in a more than dismal position than usual, although Chris Amon had been tempted to partner Jean-Pierre Beltoise for a second time having previously stated the car to be undriveable in Canada. There was some more shuffling at , who had decided to replace Derek Bell in favour of José Dolhem, who had more sponsorship behind him, meaning he got to partner the equally wealth backed Helmuth Koinigg. Arturo Merzario and Jacques Laffite partnered one another at Frank Williams' effort as usual, while the two s looked their usual smart selves for Graham Hill and Rolf Stommelen. had two cars for James Hunt, who had impressed at Mosport Park, while Mike Wilds had the job of piloting the . Victory for Fittipaldi in Canada had ensured that the Brazilian racer headed into the United States at the top of the Championship standings, and was the master of his own fate. Victory, or simply beating second placed Regazzoni would be enough for the Brazilian to claim a second World title, with the Swiss racer needing to score one point more than his rival. Scheckter was still in the fight, but would need to win with neither Regazzoni or Fittipaldi finishing in the top five to stand any chance at all. Lauda was out of the fight, slipping fourteen points behind despite claiming nine pole positions, and was now only three points ahead of fifth placed Peterson. , like lead driver Fittipaldi, would be masters of their own fate in Watkins Glen, taking a five point lead to the season finale over . The British effort simply had to get one of their three cars onto the podium to take their maiden Championship crown, while the Italians needed to finish first or second with McLaren ideally failing to score. Elsewhere, had effectively secured third, were confirmed in fourth ahead of , while overtook fallen giants for sixth. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying A cold snap hit the Autumnal Glen by the time practice got underway on Friday, although both Friday and Saturday remained dry. There would be four sessions across the two afternoons, allowing a total of six hours of running for teams to get up to speed, despite the week of "unofficial" practice prior to the race meeting. The target time for the top drivers would be a 1:39.657, as set by Ronnie Peterson as the Swede swept to pole in 1973. Report Practice had barely started on Friday afternoon when Jean-Pierre Beltoise went flying off the circuit in the #14 . A mix of cold tyres and dusty circuit proved the cause for Beltoise's trip to the medical facilities near the circuit, the Frenchman simply pushing too hard too soon on his first timed lap. A broken ankle was the rest of the accident, although the mangled front end on the #14 car ended any chance of Tim Parnell putting in a replacement. Away from the miserable BRM crew and Carlos Reutemann looked the man to beat, the Argentine ending the first session with a 1:39.268 set in the final moments. Indeed, the Argentine's pace seemed to be coming from the he was piloting, for both teammate Carlos Pace, and the sister car of John Watson were also in the 1:39.000s, and the only three drivers to break the 1:40.000 barrier. Title pretender Clay Regazzoni was the closest man to the mark in the , a little over a tenth away, while Mario Andretti caused a stir by being fifth quickest, and only a tenth behind the #11 Ferrari. The second session on Friday saw more drivers break into the 1:39.000s, with Andretti stealing the show by recording a 1:39.209, enough to claim provisional pole overnight in the new . It was a stunning lap for the Italian-American, with Reutemann unable to beat his earlier effort to claim second on the grid. Pace managed to drag himself level with his teammate in the 1:39.200s, while Emerson Fittipaldi also claimed a time in the 1:39.000s. Regazzoni also broke through the barrier, as did teammate Niki Lauda and the of James Hunt. Away from the "Aces" of Friday and were having a terrible afternoon, although they did at least get times in for Ronnie Peterson and Jacky Ickx. The Lotus 76 of Tim Schenken was in even more dire trouble, the Australian racer struggling to break the 1:45.000 barrier in the notoriously tricky car. Elsewhere, Fittipaldi hit brake trouble while pushing, Mark Donohue sat in the pits with the crew scratching their heads over a mystery misfire, while Graham Hill did not record a lap at all after an engine failure in his . Saturday's action was preceded by a demonstration by , who had three of their CanAm cars battle each other for several laps, much to everyone's confusion. Once they were cleared away practice could get underway with the penultimate session of the weekend, although there was not much action of note. It seemed as though those who could break into the 1:39.000s already had, while those who could not were ultimately going to fall shy. The quickest time of the session went to Watson, who improved to a 1:39.527 and so leapt ahead of Fittipaldi on the grid. Lauda, meanwhile, had to swap to the spare Ferrari for the earlier run after an engine failure, although it seemed as if the oldest 312B3-74 was at least competitive. The same could not be said of Team Lotus, who continued to look a shadow of themselves and under threat of failing to qualify. Given the general lack of serious improvement earlier on Saturday, some would be forgiven for thinking that the entire day was a write off. However, the final session of the weekend saw a serious fight for pole emerge, with two drivers dipping into the 1:38.000s in order to stake their claim for pole. Hunt broke the barrier first, settling for a 1:38.995, only to see Reutemann sweep past the line a few moments later to claim a 1:38.978 for Brabham and pole. Andretti, meanwhile, failed to improve but his time from Friday was enough to secure third, ahead of an equally stalled Pace. Scheckter was beaten to fifth by Lauda, and hence started the best of the title pretenders, while Fittipaldi and Regazzoni found themselves behind seventh placed Watson. Other highlights saw Chris Amon somehow get his lone BRM into a respectable twelfth, Ickx out-qualify Peterson to claim fifteenth, while José Dolhem and Schenken were listed as the first and second reserves as the first of those not to qualify. The others on the sidelines were an exhausted Hans-Joachim Stuck, the injured Beltoise, and Ian Ashley in his dated Brabham. Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Dolhem was allowed to join the back of the grid, despite failing to qualify in the top 25 as "first reserve" *† Likewise, Schenken did not officially qualify for the race but was allowed to join the back of the grid as "second reserve". Grid ** Dolhem was allowed to join the back of the grid, despite failing to qualify in the top 25 as "first reserve" *† Likewise, Schenken did not officially qualify for the race but was allowed to join the back of the grid as "second reserve". Race It would be warmer come race morning, meaning teams needed to adjust some settings on their cars during the half-hour warm-up session to aid cooling. For some this session would throw their entire day in jeopardy, with James Hunt suffering a fuel pressure issue, Jacques Laffite a broken wheel stud, and Mario Andretti picking up a misfire. Fortunately for them time was on their side, and so they were all able to join the 25 car grid, with José Dolhem and Tim Schenken taking position behind them. Report A lavender suited Tex Hopkins was his usual emphatic self as he waved the field away from the grid, although the huge crowd were focused on the stranded of Andretti, which refused to start. With the rest of the field surging away towards turn one, Dolhem was duly waved into action to take Andretti's spot who was desperately trying to get his engine fired. Schenken, meanwhile decided that he had also been signalled to join the race, although he was correctly disqualified after completing five laps. As for those who left the grid, it was pole sitter Carlos Reutemann who led into the first corner, fending off Hunt by out-braking the Brit into the first corner. Behind them came Carlos Pace and Niki Lauda, the Brazilian copying his teammate's move to retain third from the Austrian, with the rest of the field surging out of the first corner in a huge bunch. Dolhem was dead last officially, just ahead of Schenken, while Andretti finally got away from the grid after a push into the pits to have his engine fired, assistance that would get the Italian-American racer disqualified. Come the end of the first tour it was Reutemann and Hunt leading nose-to-tail, with a small gap back to Pace, Lauda, Jody Scheckter and Emerson Fittipaldi, meaning it was advantage Fittipaldi in terms of the Championship. Behind them came Clay Regazzoni, who seemed to be struggling in the early stages with his heavy car, and so had John Watson, Patrick Depailler, Laffite, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Arturo Merzario glued to the back of his car. The rest of the field then flashed through in a steady procession, although Andretti was working furiously behind the wheel to catch up having slipped half a lap behind. A clear pattern would develop over the following laps, with Reutemann and Hunt pulling clear of Pace, while the Brazilian pulled himself away from Lauda with minimal effort. It seemed that Lauda, like teammate Regazzoni, was struggling in the opening stages of the race, a fact proved by the constant pressure being applied by Scheckter and Fittipaldi behind. Regazzoni himself was able to fight a more than capable rearguard action in seventh, pulling away down the straights before being caught in the corners, but that was not enough for him to win a maiden World Championship. Ultimately, it was Regazzoni's lack of pace in the corners that decided his fate, for Watson and Merzario were able to elbow their way past the Swiss racer and duel for seventh between themselves, leaving Regazzoni in a desperate position in terms of the World Championship. Despite the mutual Watson/Merzario escape, Regazzoni's queue grew to nine cars before the end of the fifth lap, although Jarier in the ever threatening soon disappeared with tyre issues. This status quo behind Regazzoni remained for a few laps after Jarier's demise, although it was not long before attention was turned elsewhere. Helmuth Koinigg was the man to attract attention, with the Swiss racer battling well in the middle of the Regazzoni queue, despite being armed with the very uncompetitive . Then, on lap ten, the Austrian's car was seen buried in the Armcos at the difficult turn seven hairpin, having flown off the circuit at high speed and punched straight through the lower section of the barrier. Sadly, the top section had remained intact, and with no head protection bar his helmet, Koinigg duly slammed into the top tier of the Armco, suffering severe head trauma and partial decapatation. The shattered Surtees was left buried in the wall with Koinigg still inside for the remainder of the race, a white sheet simply laid over the top as news of the accident filtered back to the pits. Away from the tragic events unfolding at turn seven, it was still Reutemann half-heartedly fending off Hunt for the lead, with Pace stalking the pair of them in third. Lauda and Scheckter were next, the South African trying everything he could to exploit Lauda's lacklustre Ferrari which appeared to have tyre problems. Fittipaldi was only a few yards behind them knowing he had the World Championship crown in his grasp as things stood, while all three were being caught by Watson and Merzario. Back with Regazzoni and his title challenge was over, the Swiss racer ultimately stopping in the pits for fresh tyres on lap fifteen after Ronnie Peterson and Jochen Mass became the latest drivers to barge their way past. He lost a lap as the change was made, although it soon became clear that his issue remained as the Swiss racer swept back into the pits a few laps later. The second stop also did little to change the balance of the understeering Ferrari, although Regazzoni was determined to at least finish the race. On circuit attention focused on the Watson-Merzario battle, which had reignited once it became clear that neither were able to catch the fight for fourth. Merzario was very aggressive in the , weaving around in the mirrors to try and force a mistake from Watson, only to misjudge his braking at the final corner on lap 22 and pitched the Brit into a spin. Watson ended up pointing in the wrong direction as Merzario disappeared up the road, although the Brit quickly piroutted his car around to rejoin, getting some appreciative cheering from the American fans for his impromptu display. Mass' presence in the race came to an end a few laps later, the German getting badly baulked by Regazzoni after the Swiss racer rejoined after his second visit to the pits. Elsewhere, Dolhem's debut was cut short once John Surtees was told of Koinigg's fatal accident, while Andretti had long since been disqualified after his "push" start. Home hopes therefore rested on Mark Donohue, although the American racer's was suffering a brake problem, and would ultimately be retired after a rear suspension failure. Out front, meanwhile, and the race was slowly swinging in favour of , for Reutemann was pulling away from Hunt while Pace was carving his way through the Brit's advantage. Hunt's race was being hampered by a fuel pick-up problem, a continuation of his warm-up strife, and on lap 45 the seemed to be on the verge of stopping altogether. Seeing that Hunt was struggling the Brabham crew immediately signalled to Pace that he should push on, with the Brazilian responding beautifully by setting a series of fastest laps. As Pace swooped in on Hunt for second, the World Championship fight came to a disappointing conclusion, as Scheckter pulled off the circuit with a fuel feed issue, six laps after Lauda had disappared with an engine failure. Fittipaldi, who had stalked the South African throughout the race was duly promoted to fourth, and with Regazzoni several laps behind all the Brazilian had to do was keep his running. Indeed, if he kept his pace up and remained on track Fittipaldi could have finished on the podium, for Hunt's fuel starved was sounding rougher and rougher with every lap. Indeed, the final laps were all about Hunt's demise, the Brit having been unable to resist the charging Pace for more than a lap before the #8 Brabham charged past for second on lap 54. Over the next four tours of Watkins Glen the Brit would lose more ten seconds a lap to Fittipaldi, and as the pair started the final lap the Brazilian could see the Hesketh entering the first corner as he exited the last. It was not to be, however, for Fittipaldi had long since decided against pushing after seeing Scheckter pull off the circuit, meaning Hunt could limp home to third. With that the race was run, Reutemann and Pace sweeping home, ten seconds apart, to record a first one-two for since Bernie Ecclestone took over the team. Hunt was an unhappy third ahead of a satisfied Fittipaldi, who became a double World Champion as his two title rivals faltered. Hopes of seeing Watson repay the compliment to Merzario were ended when the Italian retired sixteen laps from the end, leaving the Brit with a clear run to fifth, while Depailler had a quiet run to sixth, benefiting from Mass' misfortune late on. Elsewhere, Graham Hill finished eighth ahead of Chris Amon in the , who had fended off Jarier in the closing stages, Regazzoni finished four laps down in eleventh, while a miserable season for Team Lotus came to an end with Schenken disqualified, Jacky Ickx in the barriers, and Peterson at the side of the road with a monumental fuel leak. Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Wilds and Pryce could not be classified as they failed to complete 90% of the race distance. *† Schenken disqualified for illegally starting the race. *‡ Andretti disqualified for a push start. Milestones *'Emerson Fittipaldi becomes World Champion for the second time' *' declared International Cup for Manufacturers' Champions'. *250th Grand Prix to be staged as part of the Formula One World Championship. *Denny Hulme made his 112th and final start. *Final entry by Jean-Pierre Beltoise. *Final start for Helmuth Koinigg. *José Dolhem made his first and only Grand Prix start. *34th and final start by Tim Schenken. *Carlos Reutemann claimed his second pole position. **It was also engine supplier 's 65th pole position. *Third career win for Reutemann. *Sixteenth victory for a chassis. **Ford Cosworth powered a car to a 78th triumph. *Carlos Pace set the 20th fastest lap by a Brabham. **This was also the 70th fastest lap powered by a Ford Cosworth engine. Standings It was the retirements of Clay Regazzoni and Jody Scheckter, rather than the three points for finishing fourth that earned Emerson Fittipaldi the World Championship title for the second time, the Brazilian's final tally coming to 55 points. Regazzoni was three points back in second, while Scheckter was ten points away in third, having come into the weekend seven behind. Niki Lauda should have done better than fourth given his qualifying record throughout 1974, while Ronnie Peterson salvaged a semi-decent season by claiming fifth. The 1974 International Cup for Manufacturers' would be awarded to at Watkins Glen, the British squad ending the season with 73 points (75 before dropped scores). Season long rivals ended the afternoon with 65 points in total, just eight shy of claiming their first title in a decade. Third went the way of , ten ahead of their arch-rivals , while were a resurgent fifth after a strong end to the season. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:United States Grand Prix Category:1974 Grands Prix Category:Formula One races in the United States